Merchandising
Many characters and gadgets from Dick Tracy have been made into licensed products - some based on the strip itself, some inspired by the short-lived animated series, still others by the Warren Beatty film. The line of Tracy merchandise includes: · Badges - Metal and plastic badges were manufactured and sold, some as direct-purchase items, while others were mail-order premiums. · Model Kits - Aurora produced plastic kits of Tracy and his space coupe in 1968. They were later re-issued in 2000 under the Polar Lights brand. ' · Vehicles - Marx' licensed a tin wind-up version of Tracy's squad car in the late '40s, and Ideal Toys released a plastic battery-powered 'Copmobile' in 1963. · Resin Figures - Contemporary versions of Syroco wood composition figurines (popular cereal premiums in the 1940s) have been produced by Dark Horse Deluxe over the last twenty years. Tracy and his parody counterpart Fearless Fosdick were included in 2000 and 2001, respectively. · Bobbleheads - A promotional piece from the Chicago Tribune appears to be from the late forties or early fifties, while Funko's plastic version was made in 2009. ' · Shampoo Bottles' - Colgate/Palmolive added Dick Tracy to their popular line of Soaky toys in 1965. · Wrist Watches - Scores of Dick Tracy watches have been produced over the years. Manufacturers include New Haven, Timex, Tiger Electronics, Omni and GTI. · Wrist Radios - Remco sold unwieldly pairs of two-way wrist radios in 1956. The American Doll & Toy Company made their own versions in 1962. Ertl '''produced still another set in 1990. · '''Dolls - Sparkle Plenty and Bonnie Braids dolls were sold by Ideal Toys '''in 1947 and 1951, respectively. Tracy, Big Boy, Breathless Mahoney, Mumbles, Flattop, Influence and Itchy dolls were released by '''Applause in 1990. Tonner also sold higher-priced versions of Tracy, Tess Trueheart and Breathless at the time'.' · Comic Books - Harvey Comics reprinted many of the daily strips in comic books from 1948 until 1961. Gladstone published trade paperbacks of the strip in 1990. · Compilations - A variety of publishers have released hardcover collections of the strip as well. Titles include Chelsea House's Dick Tracy, The Thirties: Tommy Guns and Hard Times (1978), Bonanza's The Celebrated Cases of Dick Tracy (1970), and IDW's Complete Chester Gould's Dick Tracy (2006-present), currently at sixteen volumes. · Toy Guns - Marx produced a "Siren Pistol" in 1935, and a "click pistol" featuring Junior. Larami '''released an inexpensive derringer set (complete with whistle & holster), as well as a dart gun (part of a 'plainclothes kit'), and a "Super Shooter Machine Water Pistol" later on. · '''Action Figures - Playmates manufactured a line of Dick Tracy action figures as tie-ins for the 1990 film. The line included Tracy, Sam Catchem, The Brow, Influence, Big Boy, Flattop, The Rodent, Itchy, Pruneface, Mumbles, 'Lips' Manlis, Shoulders, The Blank, Steve The Tramp, and two vehicles: Tracy's squad car and Big Boy's getaway car. The Steve figure sparked a controversy, though accounts vary on the response: protests by the homeless, or a complaint from the Rev. Donald Wildmon. Board Games - A Selchow & Richter-made game (based on the Tracy cartoon) was sold in 1961, and University Games' version (based on the feature film) was produced in 1990. · Video Games - A Dick Tracy video game was another film spin-off in 1990. It was released for the SEGA Genesis and Nintendo NES consoles. · Other Games - A small pinball/bagatelle game was manufactured by Marx in 1967. A tie-in for a proposed live-action TV series, it was pulled from stores when the show failed to materialize. · Trading Cards - Trading cards were included with Dick Tracy Caramels in the late 30s and throughout the 40s. Kraft had a similar caramel promotion in the late 50s. Topps released another set (packed with strips of chewing gum) featuring stills from the 1990 film. · Clothing - Several T-shirts featuring Tracy, Breathless, Big Boy and other villains were tie-ins for the 1990 film. The designs were in a faux-Lichtenstein style, rather than featuring Gould's artwork. Special T-shirts proclaiming "I Was There First" were sold as tickets for the premiere.